Garlic

October is the month to get garlic in the ground across Zone 8a. Planting now gives the cloves the long, cool rooting-in period they need before winter, so they wake up fast in early spring and size up into fat, well-cured bulbs by early summer. It asks almost nothing of you over the winter and rewards you with one of the most useful crops in the whole kitchen garden.

Growing tips: Break a head into individual cloves right before planting and set the biggest, healthiest ones pointy-end up about 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart in loose, well-drained soil. Stick to hardneck varieties for the best cold performance, then mulch the bed with 3 to 4 inches of straw or shredded leaves to hold moisture and buffer the temperature swings. Keep the bed weeded in spring and give it a nitrogen feed as the green shoots take off.

Harvest: Your garlic is ready next summer, usually June into July, when the lower third of the leaves have browned but five or six green leaves remain up top. Loosen the soil and lift the bulbs gently, then cure them in a shady, airy spot for two to three weeks before trimming and storing. Don’t forget to snap off the curling scapes on hardneck types in late spring — they’re delicious, and removing them sends more energy into the bulb.

Tip: Save your fattest bulbs to replant each fall and you’ll never buy seed garlic again.